News

Playhouse to sell and lease back log house

By Bill Moss, Published: December 17, 2014

The Flat Rock Playhouse intends to sell a small tract of land that contains a log home used to house acting apprentices and lease it back, the treasurer of the theater's governing board told the Flat Rock Planning Board.

The transaction will give the Playhouse a much needed cash infusion and by the spring will also allow the use of improved quarters for the 2015 class of apprentices, who typically bunk in the rustic dwelling.
"Our intent is to sell this property to a third party," Bryan Dillon told the village Planning Board, which met in a special called meeting to approve the subdivision of the parcel from a larger tract. "That third party would pay us for this property. The appraisal is in process now. The Playhouse would receive the money for the property. They would then lease back the log house and the little house — there's a little house in there called the small house."
"Between now and May," Dillon added, "the third party would intend to do substantial internal improvements to those houses to make them more suitable for the use that we have for the apprentices and possibly for other students as they come in. They would lease that back to us. The Playhouse is better off because of it, because the improvements will be made to the house and we also end up with money which we certainly can use in our annual budget."
The Planning Board authorized the subdivision of 1.94-acre from the 6-acre tract, one of several owned by the Vagabond School of the Drama, the corporate name of the Flat Rock Playhouse. The tract was assessed for tax purposes at $1.4 million but $1.3 million was the value of the YouTheatre, which the Playhouse retains.
Village Administrator Judy Boleman said no one had called to question or object to the request to subdivide the property.
The log house now accommodates 14 apprentices and the little house two, Dillon said.
Although the prospective owner plans improvements, the capacity is not expected to change.
"Other than the fact that this is going to be a financial influx to the Playhouse and it's also going to be (an improvement) — if you've ever been inside the log house you know what I mean. It is something that needs to be brought up to standards. Even though apprentices are only there several weeks a year, it could be used for more student housing if we have more students in through the year other than the apprentices. It needs to be brought up to snuff."
In view of the rare special meeting of the village Planning Board, it appeared that the property transaction was on a fast track.
"It is," Dillon acknowledged, "and it's because they want to get things started to renovate the place inside, to get it ready for the apprentices when they come in the spring. They're going to be putting money into it, other than the money they're going to pay us for it. They're long-term contributors to the Playhouse."
He said he could not yet name the buyer nor the price the Playhouse expects to receive.
"This allows us to open it up for any changes in our youth education program in the future, where we may want to expand what we do from the standpoint of youth education," he said. "That's still something that's in a lot of discussion as to where we're going to go with it."